editor’s letter: download power

“I get angry about things, then go on and work.” — Toni Morrison

WOW! What a year…

2019 has been one the most oppressive years in recent memory — the amount of negativity on the news, social media, and in reality it is, well, debilitating.

Mind you I’ve lived through Reagan, Bush and 9/11, but we didn’t have social media the way we do now.

My spiritual self knows that darkness and light coexist in this world and that we must reckon with both — often simultaneously.

I learned early on in my career that you cannot let the bad outweigh the good — or vice versa. Leaning into one distorts the truth and causes emotional, psychological and mental imbalance and distractions. Balance is the key — it also isn’t easy, it takes practice.

When I think of the loss of Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison this year and the overwhelming public reaction to her death, I think about strength, wisdom, resilience, pragmatism, and Blackness that she imparted. She gave us possibility, perspective and perseverance through her words, characters and narratives which were steeped in the history of slavery, African folklore, and the Black community and our culture.

In the darkness of the murders of Black transgender womxn, the constant police brutality and subjugation of Black life, I am weary. In this brilliant era of Black creatives telling their stories on Broadway, screens, streaming platforms, books, fashion runways, and in arts institutions, I am encouraged and affirmed.

It’s time for us to download our power and remember to be resilient and resistant as we prepare for the unknown of 2020.